Ex-Michigan GOP chairman photographed with accused Russian spy

In this photo taken on Sunday, April 21, 2013, Maria Butina, leader of a pro-gun organization in Russia, speaks to a crowd during a rally in support of legalizing the possession of handguns in Moscow, Russia.(Photo: Associated Press)

LANSING — A former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party who was photographed with an accused Russian secret agent said Tuesday he has met Maria Butina a couple of times but has never had much of a conversation with her.

A photograph of Saul Anuzis and Butina began circulating on social media Monday after the U.S. Justice Department announced Butina had been arrested and charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without prior notification to the attorney general.

Anuzis said he remembers the photo being taken in 2016 or 2015 at the FreedomFest, an annual conservative gathering in Las Vegas.

"I met her a couple of times," Anuzis told the Free Press — once at the FreedomFest and another time during a chance encounter at an airport. "I actually have never had much of a conversation with her, other than being introduced to her."

In the photograph, Anuzis said he believes he is looking on as Butina is being interviewed by a media outlet. He said he understood she was a Russian proponent of gun rights and the National Rifle Association.

Anuzis said he knows nothing about the criminal accusations against Butina, but he assumes they are legitimate.

Butina, 29, was arrested on the weekend and a criminal complaint against her was unsealed Monday. She is in custody pending a hearing, accused of trying to infiltrate U.S. political groups, including an unnamed gun rights organization, and cultivate relationships with American politicians to establish “back channel” lines of communication to advance Russia’s agenda.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Brandon Dillon tweeted the photo Tuesday, saying it showed Anuzis "hanging out with a Russian spy."

Anuzis, a political consultant who was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005 to 2009, served briefly as Michigan chairman of the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas before supporting President Donald Trump as the nominee.

Anuzis said he thought Trump's performance Monday at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin — at which Trump expressed more confidence in Putin's denials than in U.S. national security determinations that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election — "was horrible."

"He missed an important opportunity to call both Putin and the Russians out," Anuzis said.

"I recognize his desire to have good relations and have some kind of dialogue, but I think he just overplayed his desire to be polite."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump shake hands during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. Alexey Nikolsky, Sputnik Pool via EPA-EFE

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin wait for a working lunch meeting at Finland's Presidential Palace on July 16, 2018 in Helsinki, Finland. Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images

An individual, seated with the American press corps in Helsinki, holds a sign about nuclear weapons, prior to the beginning of a joint news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP